The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Women’s Basketball team forced 27 turnovers while outscoring Southwest Minnesota State 17-8 in the fourth quarter to win their second-straight game 64-53 in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium.
1st Quarter –
Southwest Minnesota State opened the first quarter with a 10-0 run before Kylie Post (Soph., Corcoran) made a jump shot with 5:46 to play in the first quarter before Bren Fox (Soph., Norwood Young America) scored four-straight points trimming UMC’s deficit down to 10-6. After the Mustangs pulled ahead 14-6, Minnesota Crookston scored nine straight points, including five consecutive free-throws to take a 15-14 lead. SMSU added a free-throw to end the quarter with the game tied at 15-15 after one-quarter of play. “We started off kind of rough,” said UMC head coach Mike Roysland. “We had some good looks, and I thought we were defending really well, we just were not scoring. The first five shots that we had, I was really happy with all of them. Once we finally got one shot to fall, things fell into place.”
2nd Quarter –
Julia Peplinski (Soph., Hustisford, WI) scored a lay-up to open the second quarter giving Minnesota Crookston a 17-15 lead. Leading 19-18, Minnesota Crookston went on an 8-0 run, taking a 27-18 lead with 3:56 to play in the first half. SMSU closed the half on a 7-4 run pulling within 35-30 at halftime. “I thought the only negative in the second quarter were some costly turnovers,” noted Roysland. “We shot the ball well, and that’s what basketball is about. We defended and rebounded to separate and give us a chance to win.”
3rd Quarter –
Minnesota Crookston opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run capped off by a lay-up by Abby Guidinger (Jr., Waukesha, WI), giving the Golden Eagles a 41-32 lead. SMSU responded with an 8-2 run pulling within 43-40 with 1:15 to play in the quarter. Julia Peplinski countered with back-to-back baskets giving UMC a 47-40 lead. Southwest Minnesota State closed the quarter on a 5-0 run trimming their deficit down to 47-45 going into the final quarter. “I thought the kids stayed confident,” said Roysland. “We weren’t scoring very well from the outside, so we set the offense to run through the inside.”
4th Quarter –
Bren Fox opened the fourth quarter with a jump shot giving UMC a four-point lead. After SMSU pulled within 49-47, the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run, increasing the lead to 57-47 with 2:59 to play. Minnesota Crookston closed out the game making seven of their final eight free-throw attempts close out a 64-53 win. “We defended against a really good team,” summarized Roysland. “We kept them away from the rim. I’m really, really pleased with the team in terms of our defense. We did a really good job of bottling them up inside. We forced kick-outs, which led to so terms. We just played a really good game in a game we really needed to win. I’m really proud of our resilience all night long.”
Minnesota Crookston improves 4-15 overall and 3-12 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC hosts Sioux Falls at 3:30 P.M. Southwest Minnesota State falls to 10-10 overall and 5-10 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Southwest | 15 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 53 |
| UMC | 15 | 20 | 12 | 17 | 64 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Bren Fox | 16 | ||
| Julia Peplinski | 15 | 13 | 3 steals |
| Mattea Vetsch | 11 | 3 | |
| Mary Burke | 6 | 3 | 2 steals |
| Kylie Post | 6 | 2 assists | |
| Ashley Freund | 4 | ||
| Abby Guidinger | 4 | 5 | |
| Emma Carpenter | 2 | 5 |
